"We've had several disappointments and difficulties this season but we've now produced three and a half weeks of fantastic performances. We fought for every metre today and covered more ground than in our last few games. We were certainly a bit nervous at the start, but that's to be expected with a young team. In the second half, the game was quite physical and hectic. Chile didn't give us any time or space and they kept pressing but we were fully engaged and switched on. There was something magical about this final as for many of the players, it was their first. They will remember this day for the rest of their lives."

"Every player who was here is now in a better position than before the Confed Cup. We achieved our aim - not only winning the title - but helping each player develop. Defending our World Cup title will be much more difficult but we have real strength in depth in Germany."

On his oppoents Chile, Jogi said "The team had to fight. The Chileans know how to handle themselves! Credit to the way that the boys threw themselves into every challenge, in front of every shot. That's what you have to do in a final. I think it was a magical game for us and our young players. It was impressive how badly we wanted to win."

"I am immensely proud of this team, we have only been together for three-and-a-half weeks," said Low in a beer-soaked shirt. "You could feel something was happening in training, we came together and it's a really deserved win."

And on another controversial VAR decision: "I didn't see it from where I was standing, but the VAR was consulted and I saw the reply," he said. "It could have been worthy of a red card and I think if a referee sees something like that, he could and should have dismissed him."

"Before the match, (Chile midfielder Arturo) Vidal had said that winning this cup would mean they are the best team in the world," Löw said."Well, this cup means that at the moment Germany is still the best team in the world. And with such a young side""Jokingly, we could say that now we have to think about which of the players we left at home we can still add to this team next year," Löw said.

Jogi was asked about Julian Draxler, voted Player of the Tournament. "Julian grew into his task. He really took on the responsibility and was a very, very good captain. He looked after the younger players both on and off the pitch, communicated a lot and always thought about the team. It was a very good performance, not just on the pitch, but in all areas. You could see him leading the team, he is a winner and puts the team first. I'm very happy. It was fun working with him."

And to his hosts, Russia: "Yes, many thanks to Russia, you were an amazing host. We had very, very good conditions and you organised this tournament very, very well. Above all, we've got to know some great people here. It was a great experience."

"Germany will always be one of the favourites, no matter what tournament," Löw said. "Winning the Confederations Cup and the Under-21 Euro win are no guarantees. At a World Cup there are five, six teams you battle against and everyone must almost be superhuman to succeed."

After being served a somewhat too sweet coffee, Joachim Löw opened his final pre-match press conference by commenting on the great atmosphere within the team, and that they were absolutely over the moon to reach the final. "The atmosphere is great. We were really happy after the semi-final to have made it to the final in St. Petersburg. That was our objective going into the Mexico game. We think that we deserved to be there. Germany and Chile have been the best two teams during this tournament.

I think that it will be a very tight and intense game tomorrow. Both teams want to win this title and we know what to expect. Chile are a brilliant team that have gelled very well, have great chemistry and experience, so we will need to be at our best if we are to win this game."

Speaking more on tomorrow's opponents, he said "We admire Chile. It is a small country and they have won the Copa America against footballing giants like Argentina and Brazil. They have eight, nine, ten, eleven world class players in their ranks that are all top players at their clubs. Tactically they are very versatile. Chile will put just as much pressure on us as they have done in each game they have played so far. They keep the ball really well and always have a lot of possession. They have guys up front who would cause any team problems. We need to see if we can withstand that and put them under pressure ourselves. I hope that we will have the pace up top that we showed against Mexico. That was important for allowing us to break them down."

"Whenever there's a tournament and you nominate a squad there's always a debate - there are decisions that are taken that are seen from different vantage points," he told a press conference."The decision to go with a squad that is perhaps not as experienced at international level as other choices would have been, I can fully live with that decision. I feel vindicated and I believe we have really out-done expectations here. What will happen next year? That is still on a different page."The players here have left a very favourable impression. They have benefited from being nominated and have developed and that was the most important task for me."

"I've heard the criticism but it is not anything unusual. There is always speculation about the squad. There are always decisions that people will view differently. My decision was to go with a squad that had not had much international experience and I stand by my decisions. I felt that we could really sell ourselves. What it will be next year is difficult to say. No player has lost anything in this squad. On the contrary, they have all benefited and developed. That was the most important objective for me. As coaches, we have 100% fulfilled this aim. The players have gained experience that will help them in the future, so I am really pleased with this tournament."

He said he had immediately contacted Stefan Kuntz and the U21 team last night to congratulate them on their win in the U21 European Championships. "I naturally congratulated all those who were part of that immediately after the game. I was absolutely over the moon. It highlights their good work in the academies and clubs. We have a good foundation for next year. The World Cup is the most important tournament of all and definitely the most difficult. You need to perform at such a high level over the five weeks. You can barely afford any mistakes in those seven games. You have to push yourself to the limit each time. There is still one year to go until the World Cup in 2018. We have already experienced everything that can happen in the space of a year and which players may be forced out with injury. This tournament here is good for the players and their confidence. Competition for places is good and important. These two tournaments are not that significant for the World Cup next year."

Asked about the match tomorrow he said the first half would be very important to control events of the field. In the second half last time, they could have been more audacious and create more openings. He felt in the Group game, they did well after the first 10 minutes, but tomorrow they need to win, the flexible attacking line of Chile needs to be controlled, and they have to create their own openings up front.

Chile's 2015 and 2016 Copa America triumphs also came via shoot-outs, with Bravo between the posts, but Löw and Germany - who have their own firmly established record of success in such situations - are in no way fearful."No, of course not. Why should I be? Chile have excellent players who can score from the spot. Against Portugal they were without fault," said a jovial Löw during a pre-match briefing at Krestovsky Stadium."Claudio Bravo really helped. He seems to be a real penalty killer."We also have excellent players from the spot. We will try to avoid that but we are not afraid of a penalty shoot-out at all."

Asked if he believed Chile would be under more pressure in view of his inexperienced team, he said he was not so sure and that would be revealed tomorrow. He added that he hoped the German side would show the agility and speed up front as they did against Mexico. He did however add that there will be changes to the line-up.

He would not reveal anything about the line-up for tomorrow, and said that the change from a warm climate in Sochi to a cooler one in St Petersburg was not a problem. In fact he believes a move away from the humidity in Sochi, as seen on Thursday night, could be good for the players.

"I am full of praise in every respect," Löw told TZ. "When he was in the European Championship for the first time last year, he convinced me with his performance, his body language and his performance on the pitch from day one."From the first practice he showed that he wants to win a place in the squad and wants to be at the European Championship. I appreciate this unflinching will and the charisma of the man. Every action from Jo is 100 per cent pure passion."At the moment, he's very strong, and he's versatile and can play different positions. In his younger years, he brings a lot of tactical understanding and implements it quickly. That makes him so valuable to us."With Jo, I really feel that he has a great career ahead of him. With a high number of international games."

"It's a lot of fun with the boys," Low added. "They provide good conditions and are very successful. You can feel that."Not only do they develop individually here. I feel that a team has emerged here. It is more basic than with the regular players, because we basically started at zero three weeks ago, as far as our philosophy and the procedures in the national team are concerned."It is primarily about collecting insights, expanding the spectrum, developing players and creating competition. This is important, not only for the World Cup next summer, but also for the next two, three years."

"Chile is the most powerful opponent in this tournament, we know them pretty well and we expect them to go for it in the final," said Löw."They will be trying flat out to pull it off, as they are coming to the end of their season, and we will have to try and counter that."A lot of work has gone into our wins. We couldn't pre-empt this (reaching the final) as some players had little experience and you couldn't calculate how they'd react."We've become a team over the last few weeks. There's fun in the dressing room, but they aren't over the top."They know there is work ahead and they are ambitious enough to beat Chile."

"The players are looking forward to it in the dressing room, but they're not exuberant. They know that they have a final to play. We really want to beat Chile. It will definitely be a war of attrition, we will need all hands on deck to defend and that will be very difficult. It will be important that we put them under pressure when we attack and cause Chile problems. Chile is the toughest opponent in the tournament." from dfb.de

Last updated 5 July 2017With thanks to everyone on the Group for their help and support, especially Lucille, Sarah, Silke, Lila, Titas and Susanne. Anything else you think I should include on this page? Let me know!